Reclaiming Pro-Israel Peace and Stability

"In political life in America today, everyone says they're a friend of Israel." That is one of the conclusions Aaron David Miller draws in his powerful new book on America's elusive search for Arab-Israeli peace, entitled The Much Too Promised Land. Miller, a long time member of the State Department's peace team, is absolutely right. That is a phenomenal achievement -- primarily for America's Jewish community, and for Israel itself. And that achievement also begs a question -- how does that friendship translate into policy; how is it put to use?

For many Israelis who define themselves as progressives, myself included, the friendship has come to resemble a rather abusive relationship. Israel is cast as the distant, idealized and embattled homeland whose role is not to cede any inch of territory and not to talk to the bad guys. No, we should send generation after generation to defend illegal settlements and to guard the very checkpoints that give rise to yet more frustration, anger and ultimately violence. Of course, Israelis are first and foremost responsible for solving our own problems. It is however not made any easier when our greatest ally and enabler encourages our most self-destructive instincts. A friend does not hand over the car keys to a drunken soul mate. A friend does not turn a blind eye to the folly and entanglement of endless settlement expansion. Periods of Jewish sovereignty and distant history begin to be self-inflicted wounds of homegrown zealots.

I guess it might look much the same to progressives in the US. Sure, one should support a safe and secure Israel, but why provide the cover for a 40 year plus occupation, the injustice of which resonates with a great passion and emotion throughout the Arab and Muslim world, providing succor to anti-Americanism and undermining US security?

That equation, that definition of friendship, is not working for either Israeli or American interests -- and as of today there is a new way to do something about it. Today saw the launching of J Street and the J Street PAC, dedicated to representing:

Americans, primarily but not exclusively Jewish, who support Israel and its desire for security as the Jewish homeland, as well as the right of the Palestinians to a sovereign state of their own -- two states living side-by-side in peace and security...[believing that] ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in the best interests of Israel, the United States, the Palestinians, and the region as a whole.

That means redefining pro-Israel and redefining the friendship. Yes, redefining, not ending. J Street is unashamedly pro-Israel and stands up for Israeli's right to security. In fact this is precisely what leads it to adopt the policy positions that can be read here, and include the call for hard-headed diplomatic engagement with Syria and Iran and for US leadership to finally achieve a two state solution, not just bloviate about it.

The supposed binary choice -- that one either has to be silent in the face of the ongoing occupation, settlements and conflict, or otherwise join the calls for a boycott of Israel or worse, is a false one. There is a need to reclaim a narrative that is both pro-Israel and pro-peace, pro-security and anti-occupation. An approach informed by tough-minded diplomacy, realism, non-kinetic problem solving and respect for human rights that applies to other conflicts can and should also be applied to the Israeli-Arab conflict and to broader issues in the Middle East.

The ability to have an open debate and to use one's critical thinking faculties should not be abandoned only when Israel is the subject at hand. A closed debate divorced from reality certainly does Israel no favors. And given Aaron Miller's truism, namely that the Israeli-American partnership is solid, there is really no need for the American Jewish community to seek allies in such murky waters as among the evangelical Zionist right and the neoconservatives whose policy prescriptions have been such a disaster. In fact it seems antithetical to Jewish values and to the history of American Jewish political struggles to indulge in such alliances--and it is certainly an affront to the liberal bent of that community.

J Street will build on the existing educational and advocacy efforts of groups like the Israel Policy Forum, Americans for Peace Now, and Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, and will add an explicitly political dimension, endorsing or opposing candidates running for office. J Street aims to build a coalition of sanity on American Middle East policy that will embrace Jews and non-Jews alike.

According to the J Street logic, and it is a powerful one, if an American public elected official takes woefully irresponsible positions on the Middle East then there should be a price to pay; likewise if they do the right thing there should be a reward. I think the establishment of J Street is a fine thing, but this will be an effort not for Israelis, but Americans. Israelis who seek a future beyond occupation, undefined borders and conflict, and believe that America has a role in helping to realize that future, can support, encourage, and wish this effort well. Many Israelis have already done so in a letter of support, including former IDF chiefs of staff, former commanders of the Navy and of the Central Command, of Gaza and the West Bank, former ministers, diplomats, and leaders of civil society.

The hypothesis that the majority of Americans, including American Jews, support a more peaceful, stable and less angry Middle East, and that they eschew unilateral militarism and the resulting chaos wrought by the neocons, now has a political address. It is www.jstreet.org.

This piece is written in a personal capacity.

Comments

[jdm58]

A few posters have claimed that Israel grants Israeli citizenship to Palestinians, and those from the occupied territories. Attached are a couple of links describing the second class status of Palestinians, and restrictions placed on Americans of Palestinian descent when visiting, even those born in America. This is not a citizenship that any American would accept in this country, so why is it offered as an excuse for legitimacy in Israel?
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1064.html
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article8988.shtml

[BillZBubb]

Sometimes a country is better off without its so-called friends. To me, the French were the much better friends of the US than Britain's Tony "the poodle" Blair. The French tried to stop us from making a terrible mistake invading Iraq. Blair helped plan the crime. Real friends tell you when you are making mistakes. Enablers only permit you to persist in your errors.

If the US was a real friend to Israel, it would have to use some tough love. For too long the twisted Likudnik vision of the Middle East has won out, backed by ignorant or foolish US politicians. A real friend to Israel would make the Israeli's aware that a FAIR settlement with the Palestinians will be very painful in the short run, but will yield rich rewards in the long run. That means living up to UN242 in spirit and finding a means of compensating those who have a right of return.

[LeoMarvin]

I opposed invading Iraq, but I couldn't disagree more with your appraisal of France and Britain. Britain may have made the same mistakes we did, but all its decisions, statements and actions, including its recent ones pulling back its participation in Iraq, have been engineered to support us as an ally and friend. It has done everything it can to avoid embarrassing us, as a friend should. If France had any similar concern for our well-being, it wouldn't have tried to undermine our world standing by humiliating us with public denunciations. It could have publicly stated its concerns over the invasion in a way that still expressed the overall support of a friend and ally. But concern for our well-being played no part in how Dominic de Villepin blindsided Colin Powell at the UN. It was all about the French agenda of drawing power and influence away from the US. You may think that's a good thing, but it's not the act of a friend.

[StanDaMan]

How to achieve a just peace in the Middle East:

1. Israel is to withdraw to its pre-1967 borders.

2. A new, independent Palestinian state is to be established in the Occupied Territories. The new Palestinian state is to have no armed forces for 50 years. The UN is to guarantee its territorial integrity.

3. Each Israeli settler in the Occupied Territories must either (a) vacate land taken from a Palestinian if he requests its return, or (b) pay him just compensation for the land.

4. Israel is to pay just compensation for the losses sustained by those Palestinians who were dispossessed of their property in Israel after Israel's creation or in the Occupied Territories.

5. Both Israel and the new Palestinian state are to enact like laws for (a) gun control, (b) the prohibition of discrimination, and (c) the prohibition and punishment of terrorism, including a mechanism for dealing with incidents of terrorism (possibly overseen by a UN authority).

6. For 25 years, the UN Security Council is to appoint the new Palestinian state's senior police officers and judiciary, who shall be qualified and respected Palestinians or Arabs or their descendants.

7. The USA and EU are to provide the new Palestinian state with funding for (a) humanitarian relief, (b) the repair and construction of basic infrastructure, and (c) education. Additional funding and other economic incentives are to be contingent on the extent to which the new Palestinian state conforms with international law and conventions.

Any questions?

[ProudNeoCon]

Yes. What will you do when another Israeli bus gets blown up?

[Justtellthetruth]

One of our own citizens blew up an FBI building. What should we do about that? send in Israeli settlers to his home town? No, arrest the guilty. Thats the Best that can be done.

Anything else is totally reprehensible collective punishment.

[Justtellthetruth]

Standaman,

This is a great set of suggestions. This is COMPLETELY comprehensive, and would work beautifully, would reduce terror, while also serving to sigificantly improve both Israel and the US image world wide.

From your mouth to Gods ears.

[MagisterLudi]

I agree with some of the suggestions.
n addition:
1.Each Arab state which illegally dispossessed Jews since 1948 should pay full restitution to their former Jewish citizens.
2. Since none of the Jews would allowed in the West Bank and Gaza, the majority of current Palestinian citizens of Israel should be asked be relocated to the future state of Palestine or provided with citizenship of ANY country they wish to relocate to.
3. The ARAB STATES and EU are to provide the new Palestinian state and Israel with funding.
4. Those organizations that oppose the existence of State of Israel would be disarmed, jailed or deported by Palestinian government.
5. Arab states would be required to cease ALL anti-Semitic propaganda in their air waves, TVs and mosques. " ..Elders of Zion" type of crudities would prohibited from distribution.
6. All Israeli citizens who lost their property in the West Bank or Gaza because of racial cleansing policies of Palestinians against Jews would be recompensed by Palestinian entity.

Now there's some balance.

[maddogbitesback]

I have several questions.

Why not admit that though one might believe god gave the land to the Jews they had no title to the land and so any land which was not bought is illegally occupied.

And why not consider that the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis seems to be the Israeli model for the treatment of the Palestinians by the Jews. Germany pays Israel every year for what it did. Why can't the Israelis pay for the pain and suffering of the Palestinians annually. And also return the stolen property. Jews continue to track down and demand property stolen from them because of the Nazis. Jews and Americans have used each other for different purposes. And the Palestinians are called terrorists. Please demand that word be dropped when speaking of the Palestinians. Call them resistance.

[dward]

Thank you, Mr. Levy, for your many efforts towards peace. I've also enjoyed your Haaretz columns in the past. Going up against Likud, the Neocons, and AIPAC, not to mention hardline Palestinians, surely comes at a personal price.

I'm glad to hear that prominent Israelis support Jstreet. If U.S. foreign policy is ever to find a rational alternative to blind support of Neocon/Likud aggression, it will be due to organizations of this kind: pro-Israel, pro-security peace groups, led by American Jews, with the support of prominent Israelis. It also must be backed with enough money to create electoral carrots and sticks. As a non-Jew, I will contribute to Jstreet and every other organization of its kind to come along. AIPAC orthodoxy does not reflect mainstream Jewish-American opinion, and it certainly is not America's destiny.

[Charles TW]

I must admit that I cannot dirve from my head that even after sixty years, the Israeli-Arab conflict is little more than boys confronting each other for a playground rumble without an adult in sight. It strikes me every bit as morally reprehensible for the West to deny the Palastinians the dignity of statehood as it is for the Arabs to refuse to recognize the right of Israel to exist as state when in fact they do.
After almost six decades of various roadmaps to peace that lead nowhere and Nobel Prizes that offer hopes that collapse before the checks have cleared the bank, it would seem that adults would have intervened by now and brought this business it to an end.
But unless America realizes that it can never be regarded as an honest broker for peace in the region until it recognizes there are serious interest beyond its own, Israel comes to accept the very real possibility that the statute of limitations has invalidated Yahweh's real estate deed, and the Arabs realize that it is nothing less than an abomination to believe that Allah has ordained them to wipe the Jews from the face of the Earth, it may be best for all concerned that we all step back and allow the bloodletting to commence and decide the issue.
On the surface, The J Street Pac appears to be more gasoline being poured on a fire that seems one crisis away from raging out of control.

[LeoMarvin]

Please explain your objection to JStreet, and what you propose alternatively.

[qwr]

Yes, but the whole idea that "Arabs" don't recognize Israel's right to exist is wrong. There is Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, among others. Israel is in fact strategizing with Saudi Arabia, a country that many American Jews see as a mortal enemy, to limit the power of Iran. After Afghanistan, Iran offered to recognize Israel in return for a security guarantee. The US refused. Hamas on many occasions has given hints about "accepting reality." And the fact is, Israel doesn't recognize the Palestinians' right to exist and live in peace. Israel doesn't even recognize its own borders as mandated by many UN resolutions.

On the other hand, it is just as dishonest to say that a hard-line stance is "Jewish." All the Jews I know agree more with J Street than they do with Likud. But there is no domestic Jewish organization that wants a peaceful settlement that rivals AIPAC or the other hateful groups. Ultimately, this country has shown a willingness to sell out the Palestinians. It really is up to groups like J Street to effect change.

[Justtellthetruth]

Well said.

[maddogbitesback]

I deny Israel the right to be a state. And I have never been to Palestine or Isael. Know tons of Jews and have met one Moslem taxi driver from Jerusalem.

[Bluedog12]

Well written.

[Justtellthetruth]

I look forward to supporting this both philosphically and financially. I want to see the settlements and the occupation removed. They are bad for Israel, Bad for the region, horrifyingly bad for the Palestinians, and bad for the US. they are the primary engine that drives terrorist recruiting and funding in the middle east, and when they are gone, and a Palestinian state emerges in their place, Many terror groups will be left with FAR less recruits and funding. They are a stain upon the Israel and the US.

Good Luck, and please, keep focused on removing the settlements for good at all costs.

[stringer]

The problem is this, like so many other issues, has become one of those dreaded third rails of politics no one is wililng to touch. The solution, as the author outlines, is to stop the settlements, stop cutting of the Palestinians medical aid and electricity, start treating them as human beings, improving the conditions at the refugee camps, quit treating the Palestinians as if they're living in a refugee camp and quit launching offensive operations against them.

These are things all sides, including the right wing Likud Party, can agree on. Do these firts. Then get to the tricky part like a Palestinian state.

The problem is that approach is called diplomacy and it's one we've abandoned. You negotiate from strength, but not from ignorance. If you agree with your opponent on something concede the point rather than fighting them on it simply because they're your opponent. There are plenty of substantial steps one can take with regards to this situation without being called anti-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. Take those first.

[MagisterLudi]

This is all very noble and cute.

But unless you noticed Israel and Palestinian territories are in the state of war.

In order to end the state of war there must be negotiations,.
In order to have negotiations there needs to be a responsible Palestinian leadership capable of representing the Palestinian people.
Last true leader of Palestinians, Arafat, betrayed the Oslo agreement and chose terrorism over negotiations. That's the reason he died disgraced and shunned by most governments: Arab and Western. The world is still suffering the effects of his idiotic decision.
Now both Arabs and Jews have to wait for someone else to emerge so serious negotiations can start again.

[maddogbitesback]

The British were not able to contain the Jews. Fighting an occupying force is called resistance. Maybe you have seen pictures of Apache helicopters (American) and swimming pools in the yards of illegal settlers while the Palestinians are fired at from those same yards as they try to harvest their crops, or the destruction of their crops, or a wall of concrete between them and their crops or being humiliated at a check point or their children having stones thrown at them by Israel soldiers. Israel will not allow the digging of wells without years of seeking permits but happily takes water from aquifers where the Palestinians still live. I would like to reiterate that those Jews who lived in Jerusalem or villages a hundred years ago had property deeds or paid rent. The Palestinians are simply trying to get back to the land they lived on and their ancestors for thousands of years. And since the Koran, which they believe is the word of god says nothing about god giving any land to the Jews they just don't buy the idea that the Jews have a right to any land that was not sold willingly to them.

[Zenobius]

It will be interestig to see how this goes. I hope it will go somewhere, since the Isaeli left could use some allies over here.

On the other hand, the pro-Likud coalition in the US is not just AIPAC. It also includes Christians who believe that God will return Israel to the Jews as part of the lead up to Armageddon {"Christian Zionists"} and US military aircraft and weapon manufacturers {someone built the bombs the Israelis dropped on Lebanon in 2006, and someone is building the bombs the Israelis are replacing those bombs with}. So J Street's problem is not just a defect in the political organization of the US Jewish community - there are fairly strong political groups in the US that favor the Likud alliance for reasons of their own, unconnected to the motives of the Jewish community.

Also, just because people don't speak out against Israel's policies does not mean that we are friends of Israel. Nor are we foes of Israel. We've just found that it is easier to get along in the US if we don't pick a fight with the guys who back Likud.

Good luck anyway, J Street

[bobo209]

NEXT MONTH, Israel will celebrate its 60th anniversary. The government is working feverishly to make this day into an occasion of joy and jubilation. While serious problems are crying out for funds, some 40 million dollars have been allocated to this aim.

Bur the nation is in no mood for celebrations. It is gloomy.

From all directions the government is blamed for this gloom. "They have no agenda" is the refrain, "Their only concern is their own survival." (The word "agenda", with its English pronunciation, is now fashionable in Israeli political circles, pushing aside a perfectly adequate Hebrew word.)

It is hard not to blame the government. Ehud Olmert speechifies endlessly, at least one speech per day, today at an industrialists' convention, tomorrow at a kindergarten, saying absolutely nothing. There is no national agenda, nor an economic agenda, nor a social agenda, nor a cultural agenda. Nothing.

When he came to power, he presented something that sounded like an agenda: "Hitkansut", an untranslatable word that can be rendered as "contracting", "converging", "ingathering". That was supposed to be a historic operation: Israel would give up a large part of the occupied territories, dismantle the settlements east of the "Separation" Wall and annex the settlements between the Green Line and the Wall.

[Americanium]

Call it the Circle Death Dance. Jews and Israelis must know that peaceful existence can only come by two ways.
Exterminating the Palestinians ..read Genocide

Or

A negotiated settlement ..read Ego bending ..give and take

Naturally Republicans are falling head over heels to pacify the Jewish Lobby after years of pandering to the Southern voters with the anti-Jewish code talk. They had a 2 part plan to try and establish a permanent GOP power base. Remove the Jewish support for Democrats by painting Democrats as weak on terror. They had already succeed in their first, which was their Southern strategy of appealing to racial fears and peeling Democratic support in the Southern Strategy.

Leaders of the GOP will have a special place in hell which will be heated with advance technology

[jdm58]

HuffPost's Pick

They've already created Hell on Earth. It's called Global Warming.

[rostam]

Great news. Long overdue. You guys would soon end up with much thicker skin if you manage to survive the uproar of the old guards. See! It's so difficult going against the tide even in a democracy. Just imagine how difficult it is in others.... Best of luck.

[straightshooter]

Regrettably, to the best of my knowledge, JStreet does not make it clear that peace can only be achieved if Israel complies with international law (e.g., the UN Charter, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Fourth Geneva Convention and UNSC Res. 242) and withdraws entirely from all lands it invaded and occupied in June, 1967, and agrees to a connecting corridor between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (Despite withdrawing its settlers and occupation forces, under international law Israel still "occupies" the Gaza Strip as it controls all entrances, exits, airspace and sea access. The Gaza Strip is the world's largest prison with its inhabitants suffering terribly due to an illegal collective punishment embargo imposed by Israel and supported by certain western governments, including, the US.)
Regarding East Jerusalem/the Old City (holy to all three Abrahamic faiths), beginning with Arafat, the Palestinian leadership has agreed to share it as a joint capital with Israel. Israel must also abide by international law and its pledge as a precondition for being granted UN membership in 1949 by agreeing to cooperate in achieving a "just" settlement of the Palestinian refugee problem. Even Hamas has repeatedly indicated it will agree to peace on these terms.

In short, JStreet should declare its support for the the Arab League's 2002 Beirut Summit Initiative which Israel has repeatedly dismissed. Israel and its supporters here must understand that time, demographics and the thrust of 21st century geopolitics are not on their side.

[LeoMarvin]

Why JStreet should agree to your terms, which would make Israel worse off than it was before 1967 is beyond me (e.g., withdrawing from all conquered land, but ceding to the Palestinians a non-pre-existent corridor). And the "peace" you claim Hamas has "indicated it will agree to" is a truce, not a peace. It has steadfastly insisted it will never agree to permanent peace with Israel. It also refuses to discuss amending its charter to remove either its commitment to Israel's destruction or any of the vile anti-semitism that draws from sources like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

There's more, but there's no need to go through your comment point by point. Your hostility to Israel is evident from the other comments in your profile. That's fine, you're entitled to your opinion. I favor Jimmy Carter's talking to Hamas anyway, because you never know what good might come from talking, and we have a pretty good idea what comes from avoiding it. And peace efforts like JStreet's shouldn't be deterred by attitudes like yours any more than by the settler movement or the Christian Zionists who think Israel has some right to all the land west of the Jordon River. Personally, the only terms I'm adamant about in a peace between Israelis and Palestinians are those that both peoples will accept, live with and stand behind.

[BubbaC33]

Israel did not invade anywhere during the 1967 War. It counterattacked against overwhelming Arab armies. Armies that has massed on the border of Israel, which is considered an act of war. And the first shots in the conflict were fired by the Egyptian military, not Israel. The Egyptians used force to close the Straits of Tiran, also an act of war.
Attacking Israel for controoling the border with Gaza is distortion. The US controls the border with Mexico. France controls its border with her neighbors. Canada controls its border with the US. To attack Israel for what is an accepted practice is stupid.

[jdm58]

This new PAC/Lobby group, while encouraging, is troubling. On the website, I find no mention of a single Palestinian or Arab supporter or member. In this great country of America there are Palestinians, and Arabs who support a nation of Israel, but want clear support of Palestine as well. And although there is mention of a "two state solution" in the PAC's goals, it is not clear what is meant. Will a central, federal government of Israel control both states, or will Palestinians be granted an autonomous Palestine? Why not be clear? There has been an Israel since 1948, the borders of which have been the source of dispute, and settlements have been illegally springing up for decades. Have people forgotten that the Golan Heights, is actually occupied territory belonging to Syria? What is the "West Bank"? It is Jordan! Is it any wonder then, that Arabs mistrust the idea of a peace accord that does not address the Golan, the West Bank, and other occupied territories? They must be invited to the table, as equals. If this is not the goal of the "JStreet PAC", then how can peace truly be served?
Putting aside past grievances, and bringing representatives from all parties will take some doing. But it is not impossible. This is America! The main thing missing, that I feel will stand in the way of success, is clear, stated support of a Nation of Palestine, as well as the Nation of Israel.
Shalom/salam.

[ProudNeoCon]

If Golan Heights is Syrian territory, then California, Texas and entire southwest belongs to Mexico...

[qwr]

Your name says it all.

[straightshooter]

This is however, the 21st century and as stipulated under international law, e.g. the UN Charter, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention (which came about in large measure as a consequence of WWII and the Jewish Holocaust) signed by Israel, as well as binding UNSC Res. 242 and a multitude of reaffirming UNSC resolutions, the US State Dept., various US govts., the International Court and the entire world community, the Golan Heights are sovereign Syrian lands that have been illegally and "belligerently" occupied by Israel since June 1967.

[jdm58]

Recheck your history. These areas were at least discussed, debated, treatied, and in some cases paid for, by the U.S. Government. No such deal has been reached between Israel and Syria. In fact, every deal that has been previously negotiated has been renegged on by Israel, as stated by straightshooter, or did you read his post?

[BubbaC33]

A "Palestinian" homeland exists and has since 1922, so the idea of a two-state solution is already in place. Any Arabs not willing to live in the Jewish state are certainly welcome to move to Jordan.
IN 1973 the future of Israel was in danger, those of us assigned to figth on the Golan fully understood how the fate of the nation was in our hands. The Golan may have been Syrian territory, used to shell the cntral plains of Israel, but it is now an important part of the strategic depth of Israel.
If a "Palestinian" was that important why did Jordan and Egypt refuse to establish one from 1948 to 1967? The answer is a third state solution became necessary only when the Arab states surrounding Israel came to realize the military destruction of the Jewish state was not possible.
How can peace be served? Arab nations can finally recognize the right of Israel to exist within defendable borders. Unless and until that is done there can be no talk of a lasting peace. Israel has given up land, released prisoners, entered into business deals and even worked to establish peaace, but her neighbors have dropped the ball time and time again. Bottom line, it is not up to Israel to start the peace process. It is time for the Arabs to step up and do the right thing.

[ProudNeoCon]

"And given Aaron Miller's truism, namely that the Israeli-American partnership is solid, there is really no need for the American Jewish community to seek allies in such murky waters as among the evangelical Zionist right and the neoconservatives whose policy prescriptions have been such a disaster."

Go read the posts on this board regarding Lieberman and you will see the hate toward Israel. As a Jew I used to worry about right-wing crazies, now it is extreame left which scaries me...